November 23 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter (pictured) has called a crisis meeting of the Executive Committee following a series of incidents that have rocked football, including Thierry Henry’s handball and allegations of widespread match-fixing in Europe.

November 22 – Adelaide United Aurelio Vidmar (pictured) has been suspended and fined heavily by his club for a racist remark that Australian officials feared could jeopardise their bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.

November 22 – Qatar today signed a €17 billion (£15 billion) rail project with Deutsche Bahn that will play an important role in transporting football fans around the country if it is awarded the 2022 World Cup.

November 23 – Five-time world champions Brazil would be prepared to play an exhibition match against a joint Palestine-Israel team to help the peace process in the Middle East, the South American country’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said today.

November 22 – Australia has recruited Andreas Abold (pictured), who helped Germany win its bid to host the 2006 World Cup and South Africa 2010, to give its campaign to stage the tournament in 2018 or 2022 a major boost.

November 21 – Former Irish Football Association (IFA) chief executive Howard Wells (pictured) has said he is satisfied with his six-figure payout for unfair dismissal, which has been settled out of court.

November 21 – Sergei Fursenko, the former President of Zenit St Petersburg and a close ally of Vladimir Putin, has emerged as a serious contender to become the new head of the Russian Football Union (RFU).

November 21 – Declan Hill (pictured), author of the book The Fix, which alleged major matches across Europe had been rigged, has hailed the revelations that a continental-wide police investigation has uncovered widespread evidence of corruption.

November 21 – England’s campaign to stage the 2018 World Cup would have died on its feet had FIFA vice-president Geoff Thompson (pictured) been left without a role to play, a senior bid source has exclusively told insideworldfootball.